In Memoriam
by xBeautifulxLittlexFoolx
Summary: Two Memorial Day celebrations, decades apart. Amidst the festivities, old friends and lovers are remembered. Two one-shots, one taking place in the 40s and one in present day. Peggy/Steve.
1. Part 1: 1946

**A/N: Hi! This story can be read with my other Captain America one-shot, Cracker Jacks. Or not. Totally up to you.**

**Part One takes place in 1946. Characters belong to Marvel/Stan Lee/Disney I suppose.**

It had been Howard's idea to come. He had a new invention to show off. Howard always wanted to show off. More of their colleagues were supposed to come, but one by one they had bowed out—family commitments, that sort of thing—until it was just Peggy left. She had thought about making up some excuse, but then again that wasn't really in her nature. And she enjoyed Howard, despite the fact that he was an insufferable self-centered know-it-all.

The streets of Brooklyn were already crowded in anticipation of the parade. Peggy was wearing a new dress: blue calico with a white collar. Howard looked dapper as always, in a crisp white shirt and navy slacks.

A woman made a comment to the lady standing next her about 'what a good looking young couple they were'. Peggy smiled to herself at the compliment, even though they were _not_ a couple. Howard was a good colleague, but there was no way on earth Peggy could ever date him.

Howard Stark was brilliant and charming, but Peggy needed more than that. Peggy Carter liked her men honest and brave and reliable, just like—

Well, there was no use thinking about _him_. Not yet, anyway, and not like that. No, she would pay her respects to him and all the other boys she knew who died in battle later on, at the ceremony.

Peggy focused in on the present. Howard was showing off his contraption to a group of young teenagers. As far as Peggy could tell, it had a lot of lights and bells and very little practical purpose. Howard was always tinkering away at the lab, and when he wasn't needed for a project, he would make little toys to amuse himself with. His eyes lit up like a child as he showed the teens what button did what.

The parade started, led off with a marching band. Howard clapped along to the music. "Gosh, I love this song," he said. "Do you like this one?"

"I don't think I know it," Peggy said. "But the band sounds good."

Boy Scouts were handing out flags. Howard took two and gave one to Peggy. "You're American now," he said. "Even if your accent wants to suggest otherwise."

"God save the President," Peggy said with a smile, waving her little flag.

"There's something beautiful about stars and stripes, isn't there?" Howard asked.

It was probably a rhetorical question, but Peggy pulled her flag closer to her face and ran her fingers lightly over the fabric. "I'll say."

After the parade was over, the crowd moved down the street to a small stage where the mayor was introducing a World War I veteran amidst several large American flags.

The veteran, a general in the Navy, gave a speech about freedom and sacrifice and thanking veterans and remembering those who past.

"I am sure many of you have lost someone—maybe a father, a brother, a husband, a friend, a lover—and as hard as that is, remember them with honor. Remember that they gave the highest sacrifice so that you and I could all enjoy the freedoms this country was built on."

A woman standing a few rows ahead of them let out a huge sob and buried her face into her sister's shirt. There were tears in Peggy's eyes but she blinked back. She didn't want to cry in public. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Howard do the same.

There was a moment of silence for all fallen soldiers. The band played the national anthem and then the crowd moved from the stage across the lawn, where there were bake sales and carnival games.

"Are you alright?" Howard asked kindly.

Peggy nodded.

"I lost friends, too," Howard said. "Guys I went to school with. If you ever want to talk."

"Thank you," Peggy said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"You're welcome," Howard said. "I'm going to go buy a glass of lemonade. Would you like one?"

"Yes please."

Peggy looked around the lawn, quietly observing the crowd. Howard was flirting with the ladies working the lemonade stand. Right next to it, a group of schoolchildren were helping out at a bake sale. Games were going on across from the refreshment stands. A group of girls looked like they were getting ready to do a baton routine.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sor…" Peggy said quickly. She turned around and made eye contact with the person who had ran into her. "Oh… my…"

He was tall and muscular and blonde and for a brief second looked exactly like Steve Rogers.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," not-Steve said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's fine," Peggy said. She hoped her voice didn't sound as distant as her thoughts were.

"Happy Memorial Day," the man said as he walked away.

"Yes," Peggy said. "You too."

Howard returned, two glasses of lemonade in hand. "You alright?" he asked, handing one to Peggy.

She nodded, taking her glass.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," Howard remarked.

"That's exactly how I feel."

**Part Two is already almost finished and will be up tomorrow. Happy Memorial Day everyone! In between your parades and barbeques, I would be honored if you found some time to review/favorite/follow this story. **


	2. Part 2: 2014

**A/N: Hi! Glad to see you liked Part One enough to come back for Part Two! I promise this one will be a little happier. Happy Memorial Day!**

**Part Two takes place post-TWS. I jump around with POV a little more than I did in Part One (where we were mostly in Peggy's head).**

**I still don't own the characters, in case you were wondering.**

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Natasha asked for what Steve thought must have been the millionth time.

"Yes, of course I know where I'm going," Steve said. "I looked at the map before we left."

"A map?" Natasha said. "You're seriously using a map? We have the best GPS technology in the world available for our use and you're driving us down these godforsaken roads with nothing to guide us but a _map_?"

Bucky sighed from the backseat. Nat and Steve always argued like a married couple and sometimes he couldn't help but feel like their child. He imagined himself whining _'Are we there yet?'_ and tried to picture Natasha handing him animal crackers and juice box to quiet him down. It was a humorous image.

Sam had invited the three of them down to Falls Church, Virginia to celebrate Memorial Day with him and his buddies. It had seemed like a fun idea at the time, but Bucky was starting to have doubts. Sam was cool, one of Steve's best friends. (Bucky couldn't help but marvel at the fact that _Steve Rogers_ had friends who were _cool_. Besides himself, obviously. How had that happened?) But how would Sam's buddies feel about their cookout being invaded by a guy with a metal arm? And would Steve and Nat ever shut up?

"I'm not saying _anything_ about Virginia, I just don't want to get lost out in the boondocks!" Natasha insisted.

"We're less than ten miles away from Washington," Steve reminded her. "I hardly think this qualifies as the boondocks. Besides, we're not lost."

Eventually, they made it Sam's buddy's house. It was a normal brick ranch, half a decade younger than Bucky and Steve. Also, Natasha had been wrong. They weren't in the boondocks. It was classic suburbia.

"Welcome to our party!" Sam said, clapping Steve on the back. "We're headed downtown for the parade in about five minutes. It's a short walk. Todd's having a cookout here after. He can't wait to meet you." Sam turned around, looking for Todd. "Hey Todd!" he called. "Come here!"

Todd, a tall guy wearing cargo shorts and baseball cap strode over to meet them. He had a little girl on his hip. "You must be Sam's friends!" he said. "Thanks for coming. I'm Todd."

"Todd, this is Steve, Natasha, and Bucky," Sam said.

As pleasantries were exchanged, the little girl on Todd's hip reached out and touched Bucky's metal arm. "Shiny," she said.

"Ava!" Todd scolded. "Leave Bucky alone."

"It's alright," Bucky assured him. "Although that reminds me—I need to put my jacket back on before the parade. Don't wanna attract too much attention."

They walked downtown for the parade. Todd's baby sister was a senior in high school and the lead trumpet player in the marching band. That meant she got to play "Taps" at the end of the parade, right before the twenty-one-gun salute. He was very proud of her.

The band sounded great. Sam pretended not to notice that Steve teared up during "Taps", or that Bucky jumped at the twenty-one-gun salute. He couldn't help but smile at Natasha grabbing Bucky's (good) hand as the shots were fired.

"Do you want to look around the festival for a little bit?" Todd asked. "I think Ava wants her face painted."

"Sure," Sam said. "I'll show these guys around."

"Great," Todd said. "Meet me in fifteen or so and we'll head back to my place for lunch."

Sam, Steve, Bucky, and Natasha looked around at all the different festivities. "Well, what do you guys wanna do?" Sam asked. "There's a carousel, some fire trucks, snacks. What are you in the mood for?"

Natasha opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind.

"What did you want to do, Nat?" Sam asked.

"It's stupid," she said. "I changed my mind."

"I'm sure it's not stupid," Steve said.

"I want to ride the carousel."

"Seriously?" Sam said. "Black Widow wants to ride the carousel?"

"Keep it down," Nat hissed. "And yes, I want to ride the carousel. I told you it was stupid."

"Alright, alright," Sam said. "It's not my scene, but I'll go with you if you want. You boys coming along?"

Steve hesitated. "I don't like spinny rides…"

"Seriously?" Natasha cried. "I get that you're old but how do you not like spinny rides?" Steve started to explain, but she cut him off. "Okay, okay, Steve is lame and not riding the carousel with us."

"I like spinny rides," Bucky said. "Let's go ride the carousel. Steve can stay here and bask in the feeling of freedom."

"You two go on, I'll stay with Steve," Sam volunteered.

Natasha and Bucky nodded and walked off towards the carousel. "Ya know," Steve heard Bucky say. "I heard red-heads weren't supposed to wear red, but that must be outdated advice because you look stunning in that blouse."

Steve was glad to see that Bucky was getting back to his flirty self, but with Nat? _Really?_ Steve doubted Miss Love-is-for-Children was going to make an exception now, even for Bucky Barnes.

"We can just walk around if you want," Sam suggested.

"Yeah," Steve said. "Sounds good."

"Sam Wilson!" a voice called.

Sam turned around and looked at the speaker, a dark-haired man built like a bulldog who was polishing his firetruck. "Chuck," he called back. "Nice to see you again. This is my friend, Steve. Steve, this is Chuck."

"Pleasure to meet you," Steve said, shaking Chuck's hand.

"You too."

And then, out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw _her_. Working at a bake sale. She had porcelain skin, and red lips, and her shoulder-length auburn hair was pinned in curls off her face.

He blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Of course, it wasn't _actually_ her—Peggy Carter was in a nursing home, he knew that—but it could've been her twin. Her many-decades-younger twin. Steve had to talk to her. "I'm gonna go get a snack," he told Sam. "Do you want anything?"

Sam shook his head.

"Hi," Steve said, approaching the table.

"Hi," the girl said. "Would you like to buy a treat to support the History Club?"

"History Club?" Steve asked. "Is that why you're dressed like that, or is vintage just making a comeback?"

"Oh," the girl giggled, nervously fixing her blouse (crisp and white, tucked into a navy polka-dot high waisted skirt). "I just really like retro fashion. I'm kind of obsessed with the 1940s, actually. I tried to make an authentic dessert to sell, but I was looking up recipes and stuff and none of it looked like it would taste very good, which obviously I should've known because I've been studying this for four years now and like I _know_ there were rations, I just didn't think about how _awful_ everything must've taken." She paused and looked up at Steve. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling."

"Don't worry about it," Steve said. "Desserts are much better now, trust me." He realized what he had just said. "I mean, based off of what I know about that period."

The girl smiled. "Are you a history buff too?"

"You could say that."

"That's cool," she said. "I'm a history major. Double-major with English. What I really want to do is write historic fiction."

"That's awesome," Steve said. "So if I buy a cupcake, I'm supporting your university's history department?"

"You're actually supporting the History Club's field trip to Europe," she explained. "Over winter break we're trying to do a World War II tour."

"Wow," Steve said. "Okay. I'll have a chocolate cupcake."

"That'll be fifty cents."

In the gazebo not far from where they were standing, a big-band began to play.

"I love this kind of music," the girl said. "My friends and I go swing dancing sometimes. Do you dance?"

Steve wasn't quite sure how to answer that question.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to. His friends were back.

"There he is!" Todd shouted. "You ready to go Steve?"

"Yeah," he said. "One minute." He paid the girl. "Happy Memorial Day. I hope you get to go to Europe."

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. "I, uh, hope to see you around."

"Yeah, you too."

"Even your cupcakes look like freedom," Sam remarked. "Can I have the flag cupcake topper thing?"

"Sure?" Steve said. "Why do you want it?"

"I'm gonna sell it to your friend Phil."

"Stop trying to sell my things to Phil."

"Look at the hair on that dame," Bucky said. Steve knew immediately he was looking at the history girl. "Girls today don't do their hair like that. They should. Hey, Nat, does your hair do that?"

"Do I _look_ like I have time to spend hairspraying my hair to death every morning?" Natasha retorted. "Steve, is that the girl who sold you that cupcake?" Steve nodded, knowing where this was probably going. "Is she the reason you have that stupid look on your face?" He didn't answer. "Did you get her number?" He shook his head. "Well, she keeps looking over here and she's smiling. You probably should've gotten her number."

"Natasha—"

"This is where you live, Steve. This is where and _when_ you are. Might as well make the most of it." Natasha turned and walked over to the bake sale table. Steve watched as Nat introduced herself to the girl and pointed over to Steve. Both girls were smiling and laughing.

When Natasha came back, she had a napkin in hand. She handed it to Steve. "Her name is Corrie. This is her phone number."

"I really don't think this is necessary…" Steve protested.

"I think I've finally found a girl who won't mind that you'd rather call than text," Natasha continued.

"I've got to be at least seventy years older than she is!"

"Not really," Natasha said. "Not biologically."

"I just don't think…"

"That swing band she likes plays every Wednesday night. You should probably ask to take her dancing."

"But—"

"No buts, Steve," Natasha said. "I'm putting my foot down. You're going to call up Corrie and you're going to take her dancing. If you don't want to go alone, Bucky and I will double with you."

Bucky stood up a little straighter at this. "Really?"

"Shut up, Barnes."

**I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day! Reviews are always encouraged! There's a good chance I will be writing more Captain America stories in the future. (Maybe about Bucky and Natasha? Maybe I'll continue this story? Who knows?) ;)**


End file.
